THE GRIFFON'S TEARS

Chapter 12 ~ "The Female of the Species"

Alede screamed as the great club wielded by the troll arched down toward Legolas. But instead of smashing him to pieces, the Elf nimbly caught it and rode the club high up into the air. At the peak of the swing, Legolas let go, allowing the momentum to send him flying toward an ancient chandelier. He somersaulted in mid air and landed with cat-like grace amidst the moldering tallow.

Alede blinked and permitted a shaky breath to escape her before turning her attention to the Orcs that had poured into the hall with the troll. Gimli caught her eye just before he launched himself into the fray, the look on his face clearly indicated that Legolas' stunt had terrified him as well.

*I will never get used to Elves!*

Not willing to let the horrible events in her dream come true, Alede set on the Orcs with a will. A simple green spell easily set them on fire and she applied it with enthusiasm. Gimli would not go down this time.

Safely perched on the chandelier, Legolas had an excellent view of the battle. He watched Gimli roll out of the way of a flaming Orc and saw Alede wielding her staff with deadly precision. The befuddled troll was still examining his club, apparently puzzled by the lack of elf-splat on it.

Legolas drew his father's sword from the hilt. A sword was not his favorite weapon, but the mighty sword of Oropher still gave him a thrill of excitement and pride as it rang free of its scabbard.

Moving to the edge of the chandelier, Legolas leaped, landing nimbly on the troll's beefy shoulder. Before the creature could reach up to swat the Elf away, Legolas drove the sword deep into the side of its filthy neck. Leaping free of the gout of blood that gushed forth, Legolas jumped out of the way as the troll fell to the floor.

Its death throes did not last long and Legolas had just started to turn away when something caught him and nearly slammed him against the stony wall. But he never made contact.

Instead, a cushioning of green magic stopped his mad flight and he dropped lightly to the floor. Picking himself up, he turned to see Alede bristling with fury as she faced a woman with dark hair across the hall.

"Zarraweth," Alede said with more calm than she felt.

The witch's arrogant smile faltered for a moment. "How do you know my name? Oh . . ." she said, answering her own question with an irritated sniff. "I suppose that idiot Maladok told you. I assume you set him loose, didn't you?"

"We did," Alede answered readily enough. "But that is not how I learned your name. Your little dream demon backfired, Zarraweth. You used your own name to bind the magic. Very foolish of you, and . . ." Alede lowered her voice to a menacing growl, "very amateurish as well. I suggest you give up your dark plans and come with me back to Angmar. We will go before their council. I am sure they can find a more productive use for your magic."

"Like they did before?" Zarraweth shrieked. "When they cast my mother out? If not for the goods here in Mordor, we would have starved!"

"I am sorry for what happened to you, but . . ." Alede never had a chance to finish the sentence. Legolas had been watching the dark haired witch closely and as she argued with Alede she was stealing closer to the books which lay scattered upon an old table. As Zarraweth reached surreptitiously for one of those books, Legolas let an arrow fly. It struck her hand, knocking the book to the floor and sending an inhuman screech from the witch.

Alede whirled in amazement. She still had not forgotten the enchanted expression Legolas had had on his face in her dream. But the reality was nothing like that. The Elf was obviously furious and not the least bit enthralled with Zarraweth.

"Her heart is as black as an Orc's, Alede!" he shouted to his betrothed. "I can feel her hatred. She will not turn from her black magic." Suddenly he fitted another arrow to the string, but before he could loose it, Alede turned, hurling a devastating spell at Zarraweth. Her magic sent the witch flying back and blasted a hole in the rock wall.

Zarraweth countered with a dark curse, which Alede deflected. But Zarraweth had drawn an encircling spell around her, protecting her where she stood clutching her injured hand. Sparks of magic skidded off of the encircling and spattered all around the room.

"GO!" Alede shouted when she saw Legolas hesitate. "Get out of here! Leave her to me!" The further he was from Zarraweth and their ricocheting magic, the happier she would be. The Orcs were dead or gone. There was nothing to prevent he and Gimli from going in search of the imprisoned Elves.

Zarraweth singed her while her attention was divided. With a very unladylike curse, Alede ran forward. Her magic might not be able to penetrate the witch's encircling spell, but her fist could and she slammed it into Zarraweth's chin, sending the witch sprawling.

Alede heard a bark of surprised laughter from Gimli, but she had no time to glance at him. Her hands were full with the witch. Because she did not look up, she did not see the anguished look that Legolas sent her, but she felt it before Gimli dragged his friend toward the dungeons.

Alede would have been no a match for a warrior, but her fighting skills were well ahead of this spoiled witch. Elrohir and Elladan had sparred with her on many occasions when she was a child and her skills with a quarterstaff were unsurpassed. She wielded her new oaken staff with painful precision.

They hurled magic even as they hurled blows. Zarraweth tried several times to rake her fingernails over Alede's face, but the wizardess was having none of that. She used her staff to send Zarraweth staggering back under a sharp blow to her face. Blood poured from her nose and with an enraged shriek, the witch hurled herself back at Alede.

They traded spells again, fierce enough to rock the foundations of Barad- Dûr. Down below in the ancient dungeons, seventeen Elves rose shakily to their feet and listened in fearful silence.

~ ~ ~

Legolas' skin crawled with disgust as they crept lower and lower into the bowels of Barad-Dûr. Evil dripped from the ceiling as thick as the slime that coated the walls. The air was fetid and hot, rank with the stench of sulfur fumes from the volcanic vents beneath the foundations. Shadows crawled and flickered at the edges of his vision.

To make matters worse, his distinct dislike of caves, a dislike that bordered on phobia, was kicking in. Stopping to wipe nervous sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve, Legolas had to force himself to move forward once again.

Something winged and foul smelling caused him to duck and curse, but then Gimli's hand was upon his arm calming him.

"Easy lad," the dwarf said softly and Legolas knew that Gimli sensed his fear. "Twas just a bat."

Legolas nodded, though once again he had trouble getting his feet to move. The dark presence of Sauron still lingered in these dank halls like mold on the walls, shaking the Elf to his core.

"Think of Alede," Gimli whispered.

Legolas heeded the advice. Reaching out, he touched a mind so full of blazing fury and courage it was like looking into the sun. Though her battle with the witch continued the atmosphere of Barad-Dûr was obviously not affecting her. Legolas stood up straighter.

"I have always said that the female of the species is the more vicious." Gimli chuckled, the sound seeming unnatural in the humorless place. "Alede is as angry as a wet hobbit, right now, isn't she?"

"You hear her song?" Legolas asked in surprise. He thought that the dwarf only touched her mind when linked with his.

Gimli shrugged. "From time to time. She is my friend as well, you know," he said, bristling just a bit.

Legolas shook his head slightly, trying to shove the tiny spark of envy he felt to the back of his mind. This was not the time or place to discuss it. They would have to take it up later.

Moving forward they continued their decent. They met only a few Orcs and dealt with them efficiently. Most of them chose to flee instead of fight. Gimli received a gash on the arm during one skirmish, but he assured Legolas that it was minor.

They found storerooms as they went lower. Wealth beyond any of their wildest dreams glittered dully in the torchlight, but neither of them was even tempted by the ill-gotten gains. It was little wonder that Barad-Dûr had been plundered. Obviously the Orcs that had remained after Sauron's demise were the only thing that had guarded the treasures all of these years. Zarraweth though, with her ill planned battle, had wiped out most of the foul creatures.

A room full of barrels, however, stopped both warriors in their tracks. Legolas wrinkled his nose, but stepped forward to investigate. Gimli too was giving the barrels a hard look.

Glancing at each other, they both reached for a lid at the same time, carefully prying it off. Inside, the barrel was filled to the top with a dark grainy substance.

"Gimli," Legolas began. "Is this what Saruman used to . . ."

"Breach the wall of Helm's Deep," the dwarf finished. "Aye, my friend, it is what my people call 'black powder'. We sometimes use it in our mining, but not often. It is very dangerous."

Both of them looked around the dark tunnels and caves that wormed beneath Barad-Dûr.

"And what would happen if we were to use it down here?" Legolas asked.

Gimli's face lit up. "With all these volcanic vents beneath the fortress?" He grinned and wiggled his bushy eyebrows eagerly. "It would make an explosion that just might cause Mount Doom to grumble in her sleep. This whole valley would be filled with lava."

Legolas nodded and turned, his heart much lighter. "Then let us find these prisoners and then we will fulfill my father's wish."

They found the dungeon cells a long time later. When Legolas first stepped up to the bars, he could scarcely believe what he was seeing. For people of his own kind to have been subjected to such cruelty . . .

Beside him, Gimli made a soft gagging sound, but when Legolas asked him to break through the rusty iron door, the dwarf did not hesitate.

There were seventeen of them once Gimli's axe had crashed open all of the cells and broken their chains. One limped forward to Legolas, his skin and hair so blackened with filth that he looked like an Orc and fell at Legolas' feet.

The startled prince gently raised him.

"You are our savior," the Elf gasped through cracked lips. "Seven long centuries we have suffered. Does the sun still shine in better worlds?"

Legolas slipped an arm beneath the Elf's emaciated one. "The sun shines even now. Sauron is defeated and Middle Earth is free of darkness. Soon even Barad-Dûr will be thrown down. You are free, brother."

Hearing these words the Elf nearly fainted with relief and those around him swayed on shaky limbs.

~ ~ ~

Zarraweth tossed a spell over her shoulder as she ran from Barad-Dûr. Without the griffon's tears she was desperate. But the wizardess had knocked the last bowl of tears from her hand as she had tried to use them and Zarraweth now ran for her life.

Never had she seen anyone as powerful as the wizardess. She wielded both green and gold magic and her staff was many times more powerful than Zarraweth's wand. The witch felt another surge of hate as she heard the wizardess curse behind her, but still she followed.

*What will it take to stop her? What will it take to kill her?*

Zarraweth could not believe that all her carefully laid plans had come to this. First the Orcs betrayed her. They had led her to believe that they were a powerful army and would delight in killing Elves. But they had argued with her plans and then when she had sent them out into battle, under pain of death if they did not heed her wishes, they had been foolish enough to lose the battle.

The griffon had been the second one to betray her, resisting her and finally becoming so dangerous that she could no longer use him.

*Did I not give the wizard more pleasure than he had ever known?*

After what she had done for him, the least he could have done was given her his loyalty. But changing shape had altered his mind. The pliable Maladok she had come to know seemed to be gone, replaced by that foul creature with its bright eyes and unimaginative mind.

Risking a glance over her shoulder, Zarraweth saw the wizardess gaining on her. Picking up her skirts, she ran harder.

~ ~ ~

Alede had never been so angry in all of her life. Not even Thranduil's stubbornness or the Faerie Queen had made her this angry! Not even Elrohir when he had placed a lizard in her bed!

Covered with scratches, boils and missing a large chunk of her hair, Alede knew she could kill, just as Thranduil had bid her to do. But clawing her way through the thicket of magical thorns Zarraweth had placed around her, Alede knew she would not. Not because she wasn't capable of it, but because she did not want to live with the aftermath.

Nevertheless, once she had pushed her way out of the thorn fence and saw Zarraweth racing ahead and a hoard of biting insects descended on her, Alede decided she had finally, irrevocably, once and for all, had enough.

She shouted a spell.

"Pyr encirlea incontotea!"

Zarraweth halted in mid flight as immense power rushed over her head and bright green flames encircled her. She whirled around, facing Alede with both fury and desperation on her face.

Alede dispensed with the last of the biting insects. She had been trying to fight fairly despite the black magic Zarraweth had used on her. But at the moment she felt a surge of dark pleasure at having finally bested her opponent.

"I would stay still, if I were you," Alede said, marching up to the ring of fire. "Wizard's Fire does not kill, but I promise you it does burn."

"Release me!"

"You must be jesting!" Alede snapped. "After all that you've done? You have set Orcs upon innocent villages, sold objects of the dark arts on the black market, tortured the Elvin prisoners, attacked the innocent people of Eryn Culhallas, and my betrothed and myself! I will spare your life, but I will not spare you the justice you deserve. Now, toss me your wand."

For a moment, Alede thought Zarraweth would comply and she stepped closer to the ring of bright flames. But as she did so, she realized her mistake.

Zarraweth shouted a killing curse and Alede threw up her staff just barely in time to deflect the worst of it. But still it wrapped its icy tendrils around the wizardess and she fell to her knees. Even as pain wracked and twisted her body and Alede sank to the dust, she raised her staff one last time, commanding the fire to take its victim and thus protect Legolas.

~ ~ ~

Legolas staggered beneath the slight weight of the Elf he was supporting when Alede's song disappeared from his mind. Lowering the prisoner to the ground, he sprang up the long stone steps, ignoring Gimli's exclamations. Bursting into the hall, he skidded to a halt, trying to pick up some idea of where Alede was.

A horrid sound of human agony reached his ears.

Legolas ran out onto the dusty plains in front of Barad-Dûr and beheld a gruesome sight. A ring of bright green flames was closing in on the witch Zarraweth. Her hair and clothing were already on fire. But while it blackened and shriveled them, it did not consume them and Legolas instinctively knew that death would not come quickly or easily to the one inside that flame.

But all thoughts of the witch fled from his mind when he saw the crumpled form on the ground.

"Alede!" He raced to her, dropping to his knees and lifting her with such haste that his movements were clumsy. His heart was hammering in his chest.

*Valar, let her be all right!*

"Alede! Melui!"

He held her tightly and brushed her hair back from her face. She was covered with sores and her lips were cracked. Bruises and scratches marred her face. But suddenly that ceased to matter, when Alede's eyelids flickered and a trickle of her song entered his mind.

"Melui? "

Alede blinked and coughed, struggling to sit up. Legolas hugged her to him.

"How badly are you injured?"

"I . . . I am alright." Alede turned her head, hearing the awful noise and seeing for the first time the result of her spell. Zarraweth now writhed in the fire, shrieking her agony to the sky.

"How do I end it, Alede?" Legolas asked desperately. "No one deserves to die like that."

Alede shook her head and reached for her staff. Lifting it, she muttered the freezing spell. The flames instantly froze in their gruesome dance and Zarraweth's form went still and silent.

"I used the Wizard's Fire to contain her," Alede said as Legolas helped her to her feet. "I never meant for her to die in it. But I was careless and she cursed me. I feared she would escape and come after you. I should have thought of the freezing spell earlier."

Legolas held her close and a shudder went through him. "You should not have used it at all. It makes my blood run cold just to hear those evil words upon your lips."

Alede reached up and caressed the side of his face. "I am sorry. I know you suffered much from that spell. You know that I use it with no evil intent, but I admit to its practicality. There is no green spell which is capable of stopping someone in their tracks quite so quickly."

Legolas did not argue with her, but she heard in his song that he did not agree. Nevertheless, she did not promise to never use the freezing spell again. It was much too useful to cast aside. Should she or Legolas ever be threatened again, she would not hesitate.

"I thought for a moment that I had lost you," Legolas said quietly, holding her.

Alede reached up, hugging him fiercely. "Never. I am going to marry you, Legolas and no one will stop me. Certainly not a second rate witch."

He smiled softly and held her for a moment more, before breaking away.

"I must return. Gimli and I are bringing the prisoners up."

Alede nodded to him and then turned back to Zarraweth. She spoke another incantation and the Wizard's Fire died away. Approaching Zarraweth's frozen form, Alede came to an awful realization.

"I know not how to release it," Alede whispered with horror. She had used a spell which she did not know how to end. Zarraweth would remain alive, in agony from the burns she had suffered, but frozen forever.

~ ~ ~

After Legolas returned to the dungeon and received a furious lecture from Gimli, the two of them helped all of the Elves from the dungeon. They blinked painfully in the evening light, yet greeted the harsh plains of Mordor as if they were lush forests.

Alede tended them carefully, leading them to the shade of a small stunted tree and bathing their wounds with great care. She seemed distracted though and Legolas stopped to ask her if she was well. He could see that her wounds were already healing, but something else was bothering her.

"Alede? Something troubles you, besides these injured people. What is it?"

Alede glanced up at him and then quickly away. He felt shame and agonizing regret in her song.

"I . . ."

"Melui? What is it?"

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with anguish. "I do not know how to release the freezing spell."

Legolas' jaw tightened as he looked at her, and then glanced over at Zarraweth's frozen form.

"Have you tried to counteract it with your green magic?" he asked.

Alede clasped her hands together. "Yes, but none of my magic has any affect on it. The only way that I know it will end is with her death or mine. I fear . . ." Alede swallowed hard, "I fear that she suffers. The fire burned her and from what I remember of the freezing spell, she is still conscious of her body."

Legolas nodded grimly. The freezing spell had robbed him of his ability to move, but his mind and body had remained alert. He was angry with Alede for using the dark magic in the first place, but he would not condemn her for it, not when she so obviously condemned herself.

Reaching forward, he took the small dagger from Alede's belt that his father had given her. He placed it in her hand. "My father charged you with a task. I suggest you complete it."

Alede's eyes widened with horror. "I cannot. I have never killed anyone before."

"And I do not wish for you to now. But it is cruel to make her suffer if you cannot release her from the spell. I see no other way."

Alede's hand shook so badly she nearly dropped the knife. Legolas could see that she wanted to ask him to do it for her. He could hear the plea in his mind. But he would not make this easy for her. Zarraweth was a servant of evil, of that Legolas had no doubt. But Alede had brought this task upon herself and he would not take it from her.

After a moment, Alede's eyes dropped. "I have been a fool," she said sadly. "I underestimated her and endangered both you and Gimli. I meddled with that which I should not have and allowed it to taint me. I am sorry, Legolas."

"I forgive you, Alede," and he felt the rush of her relief. "Do you wish for me to stay?" he asked, nodding toward Zarraweth.

"No," she shook her head. "I have tended to the Elves as well as I can. You said earlier that you wished to take them up into the hills before nightfall. Go and help Gimli. I will attend to . . . this."

He nodded and touched her cheek, hearing the regret in her song, but hearing also her resolve. Turning away, he lifted the first of the Elves and he and Gimli began their slow walk to the foothills.

~ ~ ~

Alede looked at Zarraweth's blackened form, frozen in a silent scream.

"What have I done?" she whispered in agony. She had not even touched Zarraweth, yet the guilt already weighed upon her mind. She knew that the witch was evil, knew that if she took her to the council in Angmar, they would probably burn her anyway. But she also knew that if she were the one to take Zarraweth's life, she would regret it and hate herself for it all of her life. It was one thing to make a promise to Thranduil. It was an entirely different thing to carry it out.

Since she stood with her head bowed, lost in her horrified thoughts, Alede did not see Zarraweth's eyes sparkling with fury or know that the witch was gathering her own power to shake off the freezing curse. For, unlike Alede, Zarraweth knew the counter curse.

Unaware of her adversary's struggles, Alede finally reached a decision. She would put Zarraweth under a sleeping spell, so that she did not suffer and then she would take her to Angmar. Those people did occasionally deal with black magic. Perhaps they would know the counter curse.

Relief swept over Alede and she raised her head . . .

And found Zarraweth standing before her, with Alede's staff in her hand.

"Now we end this!" Zarraweth shouted, raising the staff, her face twisted in a mask of hatred.

Alede's mouth dropped open to speak a protection spell, but she did so too late. Zarraweth shouted an awful curse, sweeping her arm down to point the staff at Alede . . .

But Alede was suddenly knocked off of her feet and sent sprawling in the dirt. The spell shot over her to explode harmlessly against stone. A shadow streaked overhead and a scream of rage sent shivers down Alede's spine.

Struggling to sit up, she shoved the small figure off of her.

"Romiël?" Alede blinked in surprise at the Elf laying crumpled, but grinning triumphantly at her. She could not have been more surprised if unicorns had dropped from the heavens to save her.

But instead, she saw that it was a different type of magical creature that had come to her rescue.

The griffon hovered a few feet off of the ground, his great wings beating the air and raising a hurricane of dust. Zarraweth shrieked as his talons tore at her chest and stomach and she was raised from the ground in a death grip.

The sounds of their screams, both avian and human, made both Romiël and Alede cower in horror. Clinging to each other, they cringed on the ground and covered their ears.

Then mercifully there was silence.

Cautiously Alede and Romiël looked up and watched as the griffon released Zarraweth's mangled body. It fell with a sickening thump on the ground. Elf and Wizardess staggered to their feet and Romiël haltingly stumbled to the griffon, throwing her arms around his neck.

Alede approached him as well. "Thank you both for saving my life."

"I swore I would have my revenge," the griffon said, giving the witch's still form a contemptuous look.

"And I knew I must return to face Mordor as a free woman, before my mind could ever be free of its dungeons," Romiël added.

Alede laughed softly, a sound more of irony than of mirth. "What ever your reasons, I am eternally grateful," and reaching out she gave Romiël a grateful hug, feeling close to this woman, though they were barely more than strangers.

"And now, if you will, Lord Griffon," Alede continued, "there are many Elves who need to reach the hills before nightfall. Legolas and Gimli have already taken two of them to a safe place. If you could . . ."

"I believe that I can carry two or three," the griffon stated. "Climb upon my back again, Romiël and let us leave this awful place."

"I will join you shortly," Alede said, already turning back to Barad-Dûr. She would not leave without her mother's books. Sending a mental note of relief to Legolas, she walked quickly away, not looking at the bloody form on the ground.

~ ~ ~

Zarraweth forced herself to crawl the few feet that separated her from the ornate dagger that lay in the dust.

They had all gone. The griffon had flown the Elves up into the hills, Romiël had been reunited with her brother, the Elf with his gleaming eyes and the bristling dwarf and the wizardess with her armload of Malina's books.

They had all gone and left her there, thinking her dead, not even sparing her a glance.

Zarraweth swore with her last few remaining breaths. She knew she would die soon. But she also knew she had enough strength left in her mangled body to cast one last spell.

Gripping the dagger with her bloody hand, she brought it close, cradling it tenderly and began her spell. The Death Curse vibrated with power, vibrated with the name that Zarraweth bound to it. And when it was finished, Zarraweth raised the knife high and with a cry of triumph, plunged it into her abdomen.

"You will not live to see another summer, Alede," she breathed with her last breath. Then her eyes glazed over and as her life seeped out upon the hard dirt, the spell took up a life of its own and swirled into the air . . .

To wait for its appointed time.

~ ~ ~

A/N: Don't you just hate authors that leave you with spooky cliff hangers like this? *Nebride chuckles evilly* Find out if Legolas and Gimli are going to be able to bring down Barad-Dûr in chapter 13, coming Friday. :D

Special thanks to Thecla who had some fantastic ideas for this chapter! :D And special thanks to Skatinggeek too! :D :D :D

*** Original Character List ***

Alede the Green - Witch, healer and wizard. She is daughter of Radagast the Brown. After the death of her mother, she was raised in Rivendell for a while and learned healing skills from Elrond. She also developed a terrible crush on Elrohir, which he has gently teased her about for centuries. She also spent some time learning the wizarding craft at Orthanc under the tutelage of Saruman. Because she felt her healer's calling was more important, and because she considered herself a poor wizardess, Alede never completed her training at Orthanc.

Cyrus the Blue - The forth Maia to be sent to Middle Earth and friend to Radagast the Brown

Lomomir - Brother to King Thranduil of Mirkwood and a healer. He has spent the last many years in Rivendell studying with Alede and reading from Elrond's many books and journals.

Maladok the Red - The fifth Maia sent to Middle Earth. After a disastrous encounter with Saruman, Maladok has become a bit of a "black sheep" in the wizarding world.

Zarraweth - A young human witch with more plans and beauty than is good for her.

Malina - A healer and witch of the Angmar Mountains. She was married to Radagast the Brown and was Alede's mother. She was killed by a mob of religious fanatics who thought her witchcraft had brought plague to a village when instead she had been trying to cure it. Alede was only sixteen when Malina was killed.

Mändel - Legolas' steward. He originally served under Thranduil in Mirkwood in a lesser position.

Galomir - Ithilien's healer.

Girwyn - A general in Legolas' army. He is in charge of Ithilien's security.

Nimhith - A she-Elf of Eryn Culhallas, assigned by Legolas to be Alede's lady's maid.

Romiël - A she-Elf captured 700 years ago by Sauron as her people were making their way to the Gray Havens.